The event I am at today has an (optional) leadline division. There were eight entries although due to the tropical storm most have scratched. I don’t really see an issue with it.
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With children, right?
I think Bonnie was being sarcastic…
But it does seem excessively dumbed down to some of us; then again, those of us who grew up riding out on “less than perfectly trained” ponies and horses and galloping around outside on terrain and developing balance and bravery when young can’t relate to a lot of the lower level riders who are either re-riders or inexperienced in this discipline - and it is good to include them! I’ve had many students who are new to eventing coming over from hunters, etc., and I always take my time with them and focus on the fundamentals: strength and balance, correct position, and ramping up the difficulty gradually - making sure they are competent and confident over small stuff before moving up – as a result they are well prepared or a bit over prepared before they compete! Even so, competing is a different animal from schooling.
Not everyone has the schooling opportunities we do in Area 2, where we really are spoiled.
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I am sure it is mostly children. My barn does therapeutic riding and has some intellectually disabled adults who sometimes do it. I don’t think they would prevent an adult from doing it if they felt they belonged in it.
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I am not beneath adult leadine on my 3yo.
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Anytime USEA adds/recognizes something new (BN, T3D, M) some of us freak out about it, and of course we don’t have to enter if we don’t want to.
Personally, I’m lucky in Area 2 to have plenty of schooling/unrecognized event opportunities, and don’t have to do too many recognized until T usually. Many of our events have multiple levels <BN with various names (starter, intro, BBN, etc.) and perhaps that will standardize if there is an actual recognized starter level with specs.
I agree with those that say BN has gotten more complex over the years, but so has all of eventing. I used to start my horses at N and now I typically do it at unrec 2’3. But today’s prelim is world’s away from my first prelim in 1995, and each level has to prepare you for the next . . . I don’t know the answer. Or if one level can be changed outside of changing the whole scale.
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Your post really interested me. Thank you for posting it.
We used to start beginners with Amoeba, Tadpole, and Leapfrog. Truly beginner-level stuff. To give an experience of XC while building confidence.
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That depends on the HT. At the one I am most closely associated with, the “Intro” level is definitely a loss-leader (we lose money on it). But we run it because it is important for bringing new people into the sport.
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Back when I started, around ‘78-80 there was nothing lower than novice, and as I recall, it was up to 2’9". I never progressed past that. I tried Training unsuccessfully twice. If there were lower levels I might have moved up, but I never rode as a kid. It was just never thought. It never even occurred to me. I think my trainer started me jumping before I had a firm seat. So I was never a secure rider. Who knows, I coulda’ been a contenda’.
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I agree with the other points of your post but this section interested me.
Presumably if you are at AECs, you are prepared for the level. You can’t go to AECs without a qualifying score, as I know you know. That begs the question of why these riders are unprepared - is it because the courses they qualified on aren’t stiff enough? Is it something else?
I haven’t ridden at any recent AEC since it’s always been well outside of my budget and geographic limitations, but I have always looked at the courses. I will say even for a championship course some of the questions would be difficult to find to school here in Area 1. Some might be easier to school if you were comfortable schooling a few levels above BN (IE, water complex questions and tables and corners) but not everyone is, for a variety of reasons.
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Mostly I am sarcastic about the USEA/USEF needing to put their thumb in every pie. I am 100% behind local venues offering whatever unrecognized levels are supported by their area.
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Agree with this - it’s a pretty transparent money grab IMO.
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Obviously there was enough interest for them to do this, in area V starter/BN/Novice make up 70-80% of entries, at a minimum. It doesn’t sound like a money grab to me, most venues already offer the level, and it’s not a requirement to be a USEA member. Either way, if there’s enough evidence the level is popular among riders, why not make it an official level.
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That’s how I feel too, bur I’m sure eventually you will need membership. Just like when BN was introduced, you didn’t have to be a member to compete I believe.
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Yes - that’s exactly what I was thinking - it’s only a matter of time.
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I will preface this that my event experience has been only in A8 and Aiken, but looking at the XC course walk app and FB page, I think this goes for most areas. Even at BN, there is a variety of what is considered BN. Here, someone could have qualified/got their MERs solely at very soft events (think options for ditches and mostly starter size jumps). In Aiken, there’s a big difference between BN at say Sporting Days vs Stable View.
I say this as someone who qualified by getting lucky in a small division on a technicality (first place ammie in an open division). I would have never qualified otherwise.
I’m not familiar with Area 1 but for a horsey area,
we have limited schooling options as well. But we can find the basic BN questions like ditches and banks at least. If Area 1 does have this, that really sucks for the riders in that area and I can see why they would struggle coming to an event.
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Recognized is much more expensive than unrecognized, for the organizer and the rider. At prelim licensed officials and course designers are essential. At starter not so much. One local organizer stands near the first fence and coaches the kids if the have a stop. Generally once they get over the first the rest goes well. I have seen trainers jog around with the littles. This is what starter is all about to me.
In all likelihood membership will be required in the long run which is more expense and hoops to jump through. And I’m not sure year end awards and AECs are a good idea at starter. The focus should be on a good experience for horse and rider, not qualifications and winning. USEA has made no secret of the fact they want to eliminate unrecognized horse trials. Recognizing starter is a step in that direction. FEI riders cannot compete unrecognized. How long until USEA institutes a similar rule?
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I see FEI riders all the time at unrecognized events/jumper shows/dressage shows. At least in Area 2 I don’t think that recognized starter divisions will change much for most people.
There is a small group who for whatever reason have not/will not compete BN but want the benefits of the AECs/leaderboard etc., and then another small group who don’t necessarily care about recognized but are able to afford it and find it easier to take their young horses to events they are already going to. The rest of us will continue going to unrecognized events.
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Some of us do not have unrecognized events to attend.
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I don’t remember the exact phrasing of the rule, but there’s a provision that FEI athletes and officials are only supposed to ride in competitions that the national governing body endorses/approves/does not object to. There is latitude for the governing body to allow participation in non-recognized competitions.
In practice USEF has never enforced the rule restricting FEI members from unrecognized competition. They’ve never approved or objected to any specific unrecognized competition. There was major blowback in the H/J world when WEC Ocala opened and wasn’t given USEF dates the first year. They ran under another association’s governance and USEF did threaten to sanction FEI members who went there. The membership revolted and called USEF on the fact that they only placed the restriction on this one venue in an apparent show of politics and USEF had to backpedal.
If USEF enforced the rule for eventing they’d have to do so for the other FEI disciplines as well and I don’t know how you could effectively enforce or police it.
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